International
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March 14, 2025
NZ Planning New Method Of Taxing Foreign Investment Funds
New Zealand is proposing a new method for determining taxable income for purposes of taxing investments of 10% or less in foreign companies by certain migrants in hopes of mitigating issues that were discouraging people from moving to the country, its tax agency said Friday.
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March 14, 2025
Judge Splits $79M Judgment In Danish Tax Fraud Case
A New York federal judge divided a nearly $79 million judgment against four investors and their pension plans after a jury in February found them liable for participating in a tax fraud scheme against the Danish government. Â
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March 14, 2025
Ex-Greenberg Traurig Atty Ordered To Pay $15.5M To IRS
A former Greenberg Traurig LLP attorney who was sentenced to prison for helping a musician skirt taxes owes $15.5 million in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service, a New York federal judge ruled.
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March 14, 2025
Taxation With Representation: Davis Polk, Paul Weiss
In this week's Taxation With Representation, Mallinckrodt PLC and Endo Inc. combine, Rocket Cos. buys Redfin, and Endo divests its international pharmaceuticals business to Knight Therapeutics Inc.
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March 14, 2025
Struck-Off Lawyer Can't Lift Ban After Misleading HMRC
A former consultant solicitor who misled HM Revenue and Customs to get a refund on stamp duty land tax has failed to have his professional ban lifted as a London court ruled on Friday that the sanction was fair and justified.
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March 13, 2025
Texan Calls $1.7M In FBAR Penalties Unconstitutional
Constitutional law bars the United States from imposing $1.7 million in penalties for failure to report foreign bank accounts, a Texan said in urging a federal court to dismiss such an assessment against her.
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March 13, 2025
Eaton Shouldn't Be Allowed To Shortcut Appeal, 6th Circ. Told
The Sixth Circuit shouldn't grant Eaton Corp.'s request to curtail arguments in its appeal of a court order enforcing an Internal Revenue Service summons for its European employee records, the federal government argued Thursday, saying it wants the chance to explain why foreign law doesn't apply.
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March 13, 2025
Australia Clarifying Managed Investment Trust Tax Regime
The Australian government is planning to update its income tax laws to make it clear that trusts ultimately owned by a foreign pension fund can use certain concessional withholding tax rates on eligible distributions to members, the country's assistant treasurer said Thursday.Â
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March 13, 2025
Belgian Firm Can Nix Dividends From Tax Base, Court Rules
A Belgian engineering company was entitled to reduce its tax base by excluding dividends from its subsidiaries in member states before taxation, as per EU law and contrary to Belgian law, the Court of Justice of the European Union said in a preliminary ruling Thursday.
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March 13, 2025
Former IRS Counsel Joins Hinshaw In Chicago
Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP announced that a longtime government attorney who most recently served as deputy managing counsel of the Internal Revenue Service Office of Chief Counsel in Chicago, has joined the firm's government practice as a partner.
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March 13, 2025
Akin's Energy Transition Group Grows With V&E Tax Atty
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP has hired a Vinson & Elkins LLP tax counsel who has spent the past decade counseling clients on the federal income tax aspects of energy transition transactions, the firm announced Thursday.
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March 13, 2025
5th Circ. Asks If Enforcement Delay Affects CTA Challenge
The Fifth Circuit has asked for supplemental briefing in a challenge against the Corporate Transparency Act, asking whether the case is affected by the U.S. Treasury Department's recent decision to suspend enforcement of reporting rules for domestic companies.
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March 13, 2025
Trump's EU Threat May Aim To Boost Negotiation Leverage
President Donald Trump continued his trade tactics Thursday, threatening a 200% tariff on European alcohol imports that is almost certain to be another tool to leverage in future negotiations despite the economic uncertainty it creates.
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March 13, 2025
Funding Deficiency May Hinder UN Tax Talks, Group Says
Governments interested in pursuing a United Nations tax convention should step up funding for the organization, which is facing a budget shortfall, according to the Tax Justice Network, as U.S. arrears drag on quicker-than-usual funding from other countries.
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March 13, 2025
Insurance Brokers Could Get Tax Refunds After Court Ruling
U.K. insurance brokers could be in line for tax refunds from the state worth up to ÂŁ400 million ($518 million) after a landmark court case, according to accountancy MHA.
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March 13, 2025
Wait To File Taxes If You Have Capital Gains, Canada Says
The Canada Revenue Agency recommended that taxpayers with capital gains wait to file their tax returns as it finalizes updates to its system to account for the delayed proposed increase in the inclusion rate, saying it will waive late-filing penalties.
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March 12, 2025
OECD Calls On Costa Rica To Limit Regressive Exemptions
Costa Rica's tax revenue makes up just 25% of the country's gross domestic product, thanks in part to regressive exemptions to value-added and personal income taxes and its overall narrow tax bases, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said.
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March 12, 2025
Judge Tosses Tax Fraud Claim In Mariana Bribery Case
A federal court dismissed Wednesday a claim connected to allegations of tax fraud in a $310,000 civil asset forfeiture case brought by the U.S. government against a Northern Mariana Islands business after concluding the court lacked jurisdiction.
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March 12, 2025
Starbucks' Sourcing Aided $1.3B Low-Tax Profits, Report Says
Starbucks leveraged its private certification program for coffee growers to boost profits transferred almost tax-free from Switzerland to the Netherlands to the U.K., amounting to an estimated $1.3 billion between 2011 and 2021, according to a report from a union-funded nonprofit organization.
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March 12, 2025
Tariffs Prompt Chipmakers To Look At Manufacturing Moves
The U.S. semiconductor industry is considering moving manufacturing operations to the U.S. and elsewhere as a tariff-mitigation strategy with President Donald Trump threatening to levy the sector and its supply chains, professionals told Law360.
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March 12, 2025
EU E-Commerce Group Calls For Extended DST Moratorium
The expiration of an agreement pausing implementation of digital services taxes comes as the entirety of the OECD's two-pillar agreement on international taxes leaves impacted businesses in uncertain waters, a European Union business group said in a letter, seeking an extension of the moratorium.
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March 12, 2025
EU Targets US Goods In Response To Trump's Tariffs
The European Commission said Wednesday that it will impose tariffs on American goods imported into the European Union in response to U.S. tariffs placed on EU steel and aluminum exports.
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March 12, 2025
Spain Referred To CJEU Over Nonresident Tax Treatment
Spain will have to face the Court of Justice of the European Union over what the European Commission said is a discriminatory capital gains tax regime because of a deferral available to residents that is not available to nonresidents.
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March 12, 2025
HMRC To Reward Whistleblowers Who Expose Tax Fraud
Insiders who tip off investigators to serious tax avoidance by large companies and rich elites will be paid a cut of any money the U.K. tax enforcer claws back under a new policy proposed by the government.
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March 11, 2025
Canada's Incoming PM Pledges To Kill Capital Gains Tax Hike
Canada's newly elected Prime Minister-designate Mark Carney said during his election victory speech that he would spike a controversial proposed increase to the country's capital gains tax, according to local media.
Expert Analysis
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Tips For Litigating Against Pro Se Parties In Complex Disputes
Litigating against self-represented parties in complex cases can pose unique challenges for attorneys, but for the most part, it requires the same skills that are useful in other cases — from documenting everything to understanding one’s ethical duties, says Bryan Ketroser at Alto Litigation.
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Anticipating Intensified Partnership Enforcement From IRS
The Internal Revenue Service's decadeslong difficulties with partnership audits led to the recent announcement of a clear, well-funded, focused initiative, and businesses operating in the partnership form will feel the impact, with definite changes ahead, says Sharon Katz-Pearlman at Greenberg Traurig.
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Pro Bono Work Is Powerful Self-Help For Attorneys
Oct. 22-28 is Pro Bono Week, serving as a useful reminder that offering free legal help to the public can help attorneys expand their legal toolbox, forge community relationships and create human connections, despite the challenges of this kind of work, says Orlando Lopez at Culhane Meadows.
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The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Espinosa On 'Lincoln Lawyer'
The murder trials in Netflix’s “The Lincoln Lawyer” illustrate the stark contrast between the ethical high ground that fosters and maintains the criminal justice system's integrity, and the ethical abyss that can undermine it, with an important reminder for all legal practitioners, say Judge Adam Espinosa and Andrew Howard at the Colorado 2nd Judicial District Court.
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How And Why Your Firm Should Implement Fixed-Fee Billing
Amid rising burnout in the legal industry and client efforts to curtail spending, pivoting to a fixed-fee billing model may improve client-attorney relationships and offer lawyers financial, logistical and stress relief — while still maintaining profit margins, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.
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How Law Firms Can Use Account-Based Marketing Strategies
Amid several evolving legal industry trends, account-based marketing can help law firms uncover additional revenue-generating opportunities with existing clients, with key considerations ranging from data analytics to relationship building, say Jennifer Ramsey at stage LLC and consultant Gina Sponzilli.
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Strategic Succession Planning At Law Firms Is Crucial
Senior partners' reluctance to retire, the rise of the nonequity partner tier and generational differences in expectations are all contributing to an increasing number of departures from BigLaw, making it imperative for firms to encourage retirement among senior ranks and provide clearer leadership pathways to junior attorneys, says Laura Leopard at Leopard Solutions.
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Maximizing Law Firm Profitability In Uncertain Times
As threats of an economic downturn loom, firms can boost profits by embracing the power of bottom-line management and creating an ecosystem where strategic financial oversight and robust timekeeping practices meet evolved client relations, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Strategic Consulting.
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5th Circ. Ruling Reminds Attys That CBP Can Search Devices
The Fifth Circuit’s recent Malik v. Department of Homeland Security decision adds to the chorus of federal courts holding that border agents don’t need a warrant to search travelers’ electronic devices, so attorneys should consider certain special precautions to secure privileged information when reentering the U.S., says Jennifer Freel at Jackson Walker.
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Enforcement Of International Tax Reporting Is Heating Up
Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s February decision in Bittner v. U.S. changed how penalties for failure to report offshore accounts are calculated, recent developments suggest the government is preparing to step up enforcement and vigorously pursue the collection of resulting penalties, say Daniel Silva and Agustin Ceballos at Buchalter.
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IRS Notice Clarifies R&E Amortization, But Questions Remain
The IRS and Treasury Department’s recent notice clarifying the treatment of specified research and experimental expenditures under Section 174 provides taxpayers and practitioners with substantive guidance, but it misses the mark in delineating which expenditures are amortizable, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.
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Preparing Your Legal Department For Pillar 2 Compliance
Multinational entities should familiarize themselves with Pillar Two of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s BEPs 2.0 project and prepare their internal legal tracking systems for related reporting requirements that may go into effect as early as January, says Daniel Robyn at Ernst & Young.
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What Large Language Models Mean For Document Review
Courts often subject parties using technology assisted review to greater scrutiny than parties conducting linear, manual document review, so parties using large language models for document review should expect even more attention, along with a corresponding need for quality control and validation, say attorneys at Sidley.